Personal Perspective: Cancel culture can offer a solution to the need for social justice, but it can also lead to spaces that aren't safe for imperfection.
Autism acceptance involves listening to autistic people and connecting with them on a real level.Autistic people tend to be drawn to social advocacy and accountability culture. A few weeks ago, another autism advocate attempted to cancel me in an online venue.
The cancelation attempt came from people who don't like me in real life. This is normal for me. As anadult, I am often interpreted as caustic and harsh. I am frequently disliked. Most autistic adults struggle with social interactions and are frequently met by dislike. . Yet, we now live in a world in which minor social missteps can lead to online campaigns that have the intent of hurting us. This can be terrifying for autistic people who already live a life of in personand chronic dislike. In a world increasingly shaped by digital discourse and social accountability, accountability/cancel culture has emerged as a powerful force. For autistic adults, whose lives are already marked by significant challenges in social communication and interpretation, this cultural phenomenon can be especially dangerous. The very traits that define autism—literal thinking, difficulty with nonverbal cues, and challenges in understanding social nuance—can turn places that are meant to be “safe” places into spaces riddled with unpredictable land mines. When a single misworded phrase can ignite an avalanche of online condemnation, the stakes for autistic adults become not just social, but existential. In a world in which one misspoken word or an alliance with a viewpoint that has become considered forbidden can lead to ostracization, it is becoming harder and harder for many autistic adults to navigate a social world that was already terrifying. Autism Spectrum Disorder is characterized by persistent difficulties in social communication and interaction, often accompanied by restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior . These communication differences are neurological divergences that affect how autistic individuals perceive and respond to the world. As Cummins et al. emphasizes, autistic adults frequently experience communication barriers that impact relationships, employment, and health, often due to both internal processing differences and unaccommodating environments. Cancel culture, also known as accountability culture, is defined as the collective withdrawal of support from individuals or entities deemed to have committed social transgressions. It can also play out as open attacks on people who are perceived to have committed social mistakes. While this culture has done a lot of good in modern society, it often operates with little room for nuance. The “Me Too Movement” is one example of how society has benefited from accountability culture . Often, accountability or cancel culture can be appealing to some autistic people. For many autistic people, accountability culture seems like an answer to the communication and social struggles they have encountered throughout their entire lives. Online communication can be easier than in person communication and fighting against injustice in online venues gives a voice to a group of people that have historically lacked a voice . It is especially appealing for those who see the world through a lens of social justice and logic. The black-and-white structure of cancel culture can offer a sense of order and justice that feels intuitively right. For autistic people, there’s comfort in rules. There is safety in cause and effect. There is beauty in the idea that if someone does harm, they are held accountable. Many of us have often felt disempowered, confused by unspoken social rules, or dismissed for speaking blunt truths, and the idea that everyone should be held to the same standard can be incredibly validating for many autistic people who love justice and structure.for autistic adults. As an autistic woman who can't read social cues, I live in constant terror of making that one mistake that will be the end of me. I am not alone. For many autistic individuals who may unintentionally violate social norms due to our neurological wiring, the consequences can be devastating. According to Evans “Research and anecdotal evidence suggest that autistic people tend to have higher levels of justice sensitivity compared to neurotypicals, though of course, it varies by person.” Largely because of this within autistic communities, there is a growing trend of language policing and ideological purity tests that alienate those who do notto dominant narratives. This internalized cancel culture can hurt communities that should be safe havens for neurodivergent individuals. Ironically, some of the most rigid manifestations of cancel culture occur within autism advocacy spaces themselves. But there's a heartbreaking irony here. The parts of autism that make autistic folks love accountability culture can also lead to us committing minor social infractions that make us victims of a rigid culture that doesn’t offer much. The aspects of autism that may attract some autistic individuals to accountability culture can also contribute to minor social mistakes, making them susceptible in environments where forgiveness is limited. This can lead to a new kind of social. RSD is common among autistic people. The emotional pain of being misunderstood, shamed, and excluded is a part of daily life growing up as an autistic child. Rejection is part of the core of the autistic experience, and rejection in spaces that are meant to be safe can cut deeper than others. Cancel culture doesn’t just silence autistic people; it sometimes retraumatizes us, reinforcing the belief that we’ll never quite belong.....even in communities that are built for us to belong in. That is the tragedy imbedded in the culture that is designed to build safety. The culture creates a rigid need for perfection that strips safety away. We lose so much when we demand perfection instead of allowing space for people to learn and grow. All people deserve space to be imperfect. All humans need room to make mistakes and grow. But more than others, autistic people need grace to be imperfect. We deserve the space to communicate in ways that reflect who we are and spaces to unmask and be authentic, even if we periodically make mistakes within the ever-shifting sands of social norms.Perfection is an illusion, and we all struggle with occasionally putting our feet in our mouths. The measure of a truly inclusive community isn’t how well it maintains its moral perfection but rather how it responds to people when they are imperfect and flawed and when they need help. It is a space where people can feel truly safe to unmask without judgment. It is a space that allows people to learn from mistakes and find true safety in a community that will forgive them, offer them grace, and show them that social justice can find roots in learning and growth.Alkhaldi RS, Sheppard E, Burdett E, Mitchell P. Do Neurotypical People Like or Dislike Autistic People? Autism Adulthood. 2021 Sep 1;3:275-279. doi: 10.1089/aut.2020.0059. Epub 2021 Sep 2. PMID: 36605364; PMCID: PMC8992906Alvarez Trigo, Laura. . Cancel Culture: the Phenomenon, Online Communities and Open Letters. Cummins, Clare & Pellicano, Elizabeth & Crane, Laura. . Autistic adults’ views of their communication skills and needs. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 55. 678-689. 10.1111/1460-6984.12552.is the founder and director of Tree of Life Behavioral Health in Madison, Alabama and the author of 10 books including the bestselling novel,Life never gets easier. Fortunately, psychology is keeping up, uncovering new ways to maintain mental and physical health, and positivity and confidence, through manageable daily habits like these. How many are you ready to try?Self Tests are all about you. Are you outgoing or introverted? Are you a narcissist? Does perfectionism hold you back? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today.
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